More foreign citizens, particularly Chinese, have used e-visa to enter Vietnam via the Huu Nghi International Border Gate, according to authorities at the border gate in the northern province of Lang Son.

Huu Nghi is among the 16 land border gates across Vietnam that have allowed foreigners to enter and exit the country with e-visa since August 15, 2023, following the Government’s resolution on the application of e-visa issuance for citizens of countries and territories, under which electronic visas are issued to citizens of all countries and territories. The list of international border gates allowing foreigners to enter and exit with electronic visas include 13 air, 16 land, and 13 sea border gates.

Since the date, border guards of the Huu Nghi International Border Gate have carried out procedures for over 440 foreign citizens, mostly Chinese.

Personnel and equipment are added to ensure the procedure processing is done quickly and smoothly.

Captain Trinh Van Bac, deputy head of the Border Guard Station of the Huu Nghi International Border Gate, said officers and soldiers at the unit are strictly implementing directions and instructions relating to the use of e-visa.

They have also received training to properly deal with migration applications using e-visa.

According to the Border Guard Station of the Huu Nghi International Border Gate, since the beginning of 2023, the unit has processed about 310,000 migration applications including nearly 164,000 for exit and over 146,000 for entering Vietnam. The applications from Chinese citizens account for the majority with about 248,000.

Khanh Hoa promotes tourism potential in RoK

The Nha Trang-Khoanh Hoa Tourism Association had a working session with the Tourism Association of the Republic of Korea’s province of South Jeolla (Jeollanam-do) in Gwangju city on August 29 to explore tourism cooperation between the two sides.

Hoang Van Vinh, chairman of the Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa Tourism Association, briefed his hosts on Khanh Hoa’s tourism potential, saying it is the only Vietnamese locality that boasts three bays - Nha Trang, Van Phong and Cam Ranh. Of the three bays, Nha Trang is one of the most beautiful bays in the world, with a rich and diverse ecosystem which is famous for agarwood and bird’s nests.

He pointed out that both sides have great potential for tourism cooperation, citing the fact that the National Assembly of Vietnam has decided to extend foreigners’ e-visa validity to 90 days from the current 30 days, starting on August 15, while South Jeolla has recently agreed to exempt visas for Vietnamese people.

Khanh Hoa desires to bolster cooperation with South Jeolla, especially in touorism, he stressed. During the working session, the two sides signed cooperation documents between the two tourism associations and their travel businesses.

Statistics show Khanh Hoa welcomed more than 650,000 Korean visitors in the past eight months of the year, making up 75% of the total number of foreign travelers to the locality.

Nearly 600 Hoa Binh residents live with landslide threat

More than 100 households with nearly 600 people in the northern province of Hoa Binh are living in fear of landslides from a nearby hill. 

More than 100 households with nearly 600 people in Rong Vong Village in Hoa Binh are living in fear of landslides from a nearby hill.

A local resident, Nguyen Quang Nam, said that hundreds of families in his Rong Vong Village, Luong Son District have faced the threats for many years.

"Thu Lao Hill has started to show cracks since 2015," Nam said. "The cracks are 30 metres in length and over half a metre wide and can be seen at the height of between 50-60 metres on the hill. Since the cracks appeared, landslides have occurred with stones and soil dropping onto our residential areas."

The man shares that they are most worried when it rains.

"The landslides seemed to have occurred more often over the past three years," he said. "A large amount of soil and stones fell onto my garden following rain last year."

Another resident, Hoang Bich Diep, said that her family and neighbours have lived here for generations but now are facing threats of losing their homes to landslides.

"We have to run out whenever we hear strange sounds from the hill," Diep said. "We always live in constant fear during the rainy and flood season."

Nam, Diep and other families in the village have reported the problems to local authorities and are waiting for a proper solution from the government.

According to the Lam Son Commune People's Committee, 144 households with nearly 600 people in Rong Vong Village live by Lu Thao Hill. The hill is prone to landslides. The villagers have been evacuated seven times during rains and landslides from the hill.

Lam Son Commune People's Committee Vice Chairman Bui Anh Quy said that they have covered the cracks with canvas to avoid rainwater and will evacuate people when there are heavy rains that last two or three days."This is only a temporary measure," the official said. "We're working with a company to build an anti-landslide project for this area and will propose it to the provincial people's committee within this year."

Head of AIC's Financial Secretary Division returns home to surrender

The Police Investigation Agency has received Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Head of the Financial Secretary Division of AIC Company, who returned to Vietnam to give herself up, announced Lieutenant General To An Xo on August 28.

Currently, the Police Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security is cooperating with functional divisions to carry out investigation actions aimed at clarifying Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong's and other defendants' illegal actions. The Police Investigation Agency proposes that defendants and other fugitives in cases directly related to the AIC company, or through family, relatives, or agencies representing Vietnam abroad, contact the Investigation Police Agency to surrender and receive legal leniency.

Cases of persistent evasion shall be investigated, prosecuted, and tried in line with the law. Previously, by order of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam, the Police Investigation Agency issued an arrest warrant.

HCMC gets ready for super music festival

HCMC’s third Ho Do International Music Festival 2023 themed “From Ho Chi Minh City with love” will be back with many changes that are expected to be an international art, cultural, and entertainment rendezvous in the city for music lovers.

Last year, around 250 international artists coming from countries and territories throughout the world traveled to HCMC to participate in seven music performances that attracted more than 150,000 audiences and 10.9 million on social platforms in “Ho Do" Music Festival 2022.

Following the success of Ho Do 2022, this year’s event will be developed into an international music festival on a larger scale.

According to musician Huy Tuan, general director of the festival, Ho Do International Music Festival 2023 (Ho Do 2023) will include four performances titled “HOZO Inspired Talents” featuring young music talents and three others called “HOZO Super Fest” with the participation of well-known domestic and foreign singers from France, Belgium, Spain, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan.

The “HOZO Inspired Talents” will take place every last week of the month at Lam Son Park in District 1 while “HOZO Super Fest” will be held in Nguyen Hue Walking Street on December 22-24.

The sideline activities, including the HOZO University Tour and Music Video Theme Song “Millions of Hearts” are planned to be launched in November. Additionally, there will be workshops on international music and programs seeking talents expected to create playing fields for music lovers in the city.

The participation of internationally acclaimed artists is the guarantee of prestige and quality that makes the Ho Do music festival become an annual international event, creating a new cultural brand of HCMC, said musician Huy Tuan.

This year’s festival will be also a much-awaited event with the presence of K-pop stars, he added.

Ho Do music festival is invested and organized by the municipal government with the goal of promoting Vietnamese music in the international music market as well as bringing the world’s music closer to Vietnamese audiences. The event is expected to affirm its position on the map of international music festivals and become a venue for domestic and foreign visitors, Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy said.

Primary, high schoolers compete with each other at AI Hackathon 2023 contest

Primary and high schoolers will compete with each other at the AI Hackathon 2023 contest launched by the Ho Chi Minh City Saigon Hi-Tech Park Incubation Center (SHTP-IC) and the KDI Education Company.

The AI Hackathon 2023 contest with the theme ‘Sustainable development’ comprises three categories for elementary students, middle and high school students.

In Group A, elementary students will use the Scratch programming language to create AI-used computer applications revolving around the contest topic meanwhile, high school students in Groups B and C will challenge themselves to program robots with AI-used cameras to finish environmental protection tasks on the maquette.

Through this contest with the theme "Sustainable development", the organizers also directed the teams to learn and propose effective solutions for Earth protection in addition to the requirements of programming and robotics knowledge.

Finalists will deliver their presentation about their finished products and perform demos in front of the jury board that will evaluate and select the best teams to move on to the next round. There will be 8 cash prizes and gifts presented by sponsors of the AI Hackathon 2023 contest.

According to a representative of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, the contest aims to stimulate students’ curiosity and discovery. He believed that students could come up with creative solutions and apply artificial intelligence to everyday life.

Those wanting to register for the AI Hackathon 2023 for elementary, middle and high school students from today until September 10, 2023, can send documents through the website: https://kdi.edu.vn/cuoc-thi-ai -hackathon or email Vinh.tran@kdi.edu.vn.

Higher education facilities’ tuition fees: Balance between quality and access

Currently, tuition fees in higher education facilities are extremely high impeding students from poor families to continue pursuing their studies. So it is time to balance education quality and students’ access.

Tuition fees are one factor that significantly influences the dual goals of higher education: ensuring quality and expanding access. Without increasing tuition fees, there may not be enough resources to ensure quality; however, rising tuition fees increase the barriers for potential students from low-income households.

Hundreds of thousands of freshmen across the country who have been successful in making the cut into a university of their choice are going to schools to complete admission procedures. However, tuition fees at some major universities in HCMC increased sharply from a few tens of millions of dong to hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong, causing many parents and students to worry.

Though some students from poverty-stricken households were supported to reduce 50 percent of their tuition fees, they still could not afford to pay tuition fees, so they had to stop attending medical school to wait for additional admission.

Higher education facilities can be divided into 3 groups including non-autonomous public universities, self-financing universities, and non-public universities (also known as private universities).

Tuition fees of non-autonomous public universities are collected according to the government’s Decree 81/2021/ND-CP issued on August 27, 2021 on the mechanism of collection and management of tuition fees for educational institutions under the national education system and policies on tuition fee exemption and reduction and support for study expenses; service prices in the field of education and training. The Decree took effect on October 15, 2021.

However, in the face of the difficult economic situation and the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, in the past two years, the Government has directed not to increase tuition fees as prescribed in the Decree 81. Thus, these schools’ tuition fees fluctuate from VND12 million (US$494) to VND24.5 million a year meanwhile, if schools collect the tuition fee according to the Decree 86, tuition fees will range from VND9.8 million to VND14.3 million a year.

Tuition fees of autonomous public universities according to the Decree 81 are 2-2.5 times higher than those of non-autonomous institutions. This means that the tuition fee of an independent school’s medicine major ranges from VND49 million-VND61.25 million a year. Many schools now have quite high tuition fees. For instance, Medicine of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City has a tuition fee of VND74.8 million a year; tuition fees for high-quality programs at Ho Chi Minh University of Law are VND62.5 million - VND165 million a year.

Worse, some schools running courses that meet international accreditation standards are free to determine the tuition fees. Private universities’ medicine majors are even higher. For example, Tan Tao University earns an average of VND150 million a year while the Odonto-Stomatology major of Van Lang University and Hong Bang International University have tuition fees of about VND200 million and VND180 million a year, respectively.

Thus, students of medicine majors have to pay tuition fees of about VND1 billion at a private university while their peers in public autonomous schools also spend about VND500 million. However, many schools think that the above tuition fee is satisfactory compared to the tuition fee of several tens of thousands of US dollars a year in foreign countries but they forgot to compare training quality. Many private universities even lack lecturers, facilities, machines and equipment for practice.

According to the latest report from the World Bank, the student credit policy in Vietnam is not attractive. The majority of students’ tuition fees are covered by their parents without long-term support from the State.

Higher prices for a university degree should not be seen as any guarantee that students are getting better quality education. Therefore, the government should increase the budget for education in general and higher education in particular to reduce the anxiety and burden of tuition fees for learners and their parents in addition to a good credit policy for learners.

Furthermore, to reduce the gap in university access between rural and urban areas, it is necessary to adjust the credit policy by increasing the number of loans to poor students without interest after they graduate. Moreover, all university learners can access the credit policy.

48th HCMC Traditional Art Photo Exhibition opens

Photographer Do Tuan Hung won the golden medal for his photo themed “Vietnam- Diem den cua nhung sieu du thuyen” (Vietnam- a destination for luxurious cruise ships) at the 48th HCMC Traditional Art Photo Contest.

Photo themed “Vietnam- Diem den cua nhung sieu du thuyen” (Vietnam- a destination for luxurious cruise ships) by Do Tuan Hung
Photographer Le Anh Tuan got the silver medal for the picture titled “Don anh binh minh” (Welcoming the sunrise).

The award ceremony of the 48th HCMC Traditional Art Photo Contest and an exhibition displaying award-winning works were held by the HCMC Photography Association on August 29.

This year’s event attracted 3,855 submissions from 333 authors from 45 cities and provinces throughout the country. The contest included three categories, freestyle images (portraits, landscapes, daily activities, still life, nature, and ideas), contrast black and white photos, black and white adjustments in affinity photos.

The organization board selected 140 artworks to display at the exhibition.

Vietnamese students have chance to get full scholarships for studying abroad

Vietnamese students who are looking to study abroad have a chance to get full scholarships to study in the US and Canada at the USA and Canada Study Abroad Exhibition which offered the largest scholarship-hunting program in September 2023.
 
Experts from more than 50 schools from high schools to undergraduate and graduate schools in the US and Canada will guide students to fulfill their aspiration to study overseas at the exhibition. This is an opportunity for parents and students to get access to necessary information for a successful study abroad plan from admissions directors’ answers.

Accordingly, students can access exclusive scholarship funds up to 100 percent selection at the exhibition. Moreover, they will have updates of the latest information on visa policy and get advice on intensive study abroad journey 1:1. Last but not least, school experts will also reveal current attractive majors to easily find employment and settlement opportunities.

The exhibition is scheduled to be held at the InterContinental Hotel at 82 Hai Ba Trung in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 on September 23. Free registration for the exhibition is available at bit.ly/aaefall23.

Vietnamese people in Laos hold Vu Lan festival

The Vietnamese community in Laos on August 30 organised the Vu Lan Festival at Phat Tich pagoda in Vientiane capital city.

The festival, which falls on the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar or August 30 this year, is a Buddhist tradition aimed at honouring and showing gratitude to parents who are alive and those who passed away.

It is observed annually at Phat Tich pagoda in order to preserve the tradition in the cultural life of the Vietnamese community in Laos, and also an opportunity for Buddhists to express their filial piety towards their parents.

On this occasion, 200 gifts were presented to Vietnamese and Lao people with disabilities and those who are living in difficulties.

ASEAN Summit to discuss migrant worker issues: official

The 43rd ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in early September, will discuss migrant worker issues that have been on the agenda of the 30th ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council Meeting held in Jakarta on August 29, according to Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy.

Speaking at a press conference on August 29, Muhadjir said that ASCC-30 discussed issues of the social-cultural pillar that is expected to be approved at the 43rd ASEAN Summit.

For his part, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said the meeting discussed the ASCC's strategic direction in promoting a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable ASEAN. It is also a place to exchange views on the formation of a strong and inclusive ASCC after 2025.

According to the ASEAN chief, ASCC-30 highly appreciated Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023 and affirmed its commitment to support Laos to assume the role of ASEAN Chair in 2024.

Meanwhile, Senior Advisor to the Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Culture on International Relations Affairs Dr. Joko Kusnanto Anggoro said that statements and documents related to socio-cultural issues in ASEAN this year are evaluated very practical, such as poverty reduction, malnutrition, equitable development, and gender issues.

Joko affirmed that Indonesia as ASEAN Chair in 2023 also strived to make cultural and social issues one of the important pillars that will continue to be implemented in the following chairmanship terms.

Under the chair of Indonesia, the ASEAN socio-cultural pillar has five main focuses including empowering people with disabilities, responding to climate change, strengthening family resilience, improving the quality of preschool education, and adapting to natural disasters.

The priority issues of Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship Year on the socio-cultural pillar will be included in several documents expected to be adopted by ASEAN leaders at the 43rd ASEAN Summit.

First-ever Mexican Gastronomic Festival to be held in HCM City

The First Mexican Gastronomic Festival will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on September 15-22, expected to be a magnet to Mexican food lovers and those curious about the North American country’s gastronomy.

The event will be organised by the Embassy of Mexico in Vietnam and local restaurants to mark the 213th anniversary of the Independence of Mexico and savour Mexico’s gastronomy, declared an Intangible World Heritage by UNESCO in 2010.

Six selected Mexican restaurants representing authenticity and diversity, including District Federal, Agave Saigon, Xolo Tequila Bar, Tacos Fuego, Gringo Tacos y Cantina, and Tippy’s Mexican Food, will take diners through a unique gastronomic experience.

The festival is also for diners to learn about the country's rich cultural heritage by immersing themselves in a traditional Mexican atmosphere.

The Ambassador of Mexico in Vietnam, Alejandro Negrin, introduced the unprecedented event as an initiative of the Embassy to strengthen bilateral relations through the passion for food.

"Since Mexican cuisine is a UNESCO World Heritage for its explosion of flavours and traditions, the event is hoped to offer a unique experience to the Vietnamese public," Negrin said, adding that it is also a testament to the strong friendship between the two nations.

“Mexican gastronomy is an amalgamation of flavours, colours, and traditions that we are eager to share with the Vietnamese public. Thus, the event promises to delight the senses and create unforgettable culinary memories.” said Vu Minh Anh, Honorary Consul of Mexico in HCM City.

263 children nationwide to conduct hypothetical NA session

As many as 263 children nationwide will offer their opinions on issues relating child protection as National Assembly deputies at a hypothetical session slated for September 9-10, heard a press conference on August 30.

The session, the first of its kind, will be jointly held by the NA Committee for Culture and Education, the NA Office and relevant associations to materialise the 2016 Child Law and concretise the 2021-2030 National Action Plan for Children.

The children, aged between 11 and 16, will be divided into eight groups to look into protecting children in cyberspace, and preventing child injuries, violence and abuse.

The programme aims to create conditions for children to sharpen their presentation skills, participate in making decisions on child-related matters, and learn about the operation of the legislative body.

It also affirms the attention of Party, State and NA leaders to child protection, care and education, and upholds the role of youth unions in speaking out children’s opinions and aspirations.

A plenary session is scheduled for September 10 morning at the NA Building in Hanoi with the attendance of NA leaders and representatives from ministries and agencies.

Following the hypothetical session, leaders of the legislature, ministries and agencies will meet to clear up children’s concern, according to Nguyen Thi Mai Thoa, permanent member of the NA Committee for Culture and Education.

In preparation for the session, a survey has been conducted to collect children’s opinions on the above-said topics in both online and in-person formats, with more than 40,000 opinions raised so far, said the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

Dong Nai conserves wild elephants towards harmonious coexistence

A seminar took place in the southern province of Dong Nai on August 30 to assess the local pilot wild elephant conservation programme towards harmonious coexistence.

The project is part of a joint effort between the Vietnamese Government and Humane Society International (HSI). By using camera traps to create individual photo IDs and profiles for each animal, while monitoring human-elephant conflict incidents and conducting elephant distribution surveys, it aims to better understand elephants, their movements and behaviour to help humanely mitigate human-elephant conflict, which threatens this endangered sub-population of Asia’s elephants.

Dong Nai – home to the second largest remaining wild elephant population in the country – is the experimental location for an approach to conservation that has not been previously carried out in Vietnam, said Vo Van Phi, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee. The seminar would provide accurate assessments of the achieved results so far, discuss challenges, and draw lessons from the implementation process.

Dong Nai’s experiences could be helpful for conservation efforts in other localities, he noted.

The official affirmed that Dong Nai prioritises and allocates significant resources for forest protection and biodiversity preservation, while developing the economy harmoniously with nature, avoiding environmental compromise for economic growth.

Tham Hong Phuong, HSI's country director in Vietnam, with the organisation’s new research data, it is possible to approach human-elephant conflict situations based on an understanding of specific characteristics, behaviors, ranges, and habits of relevant individual elephants. This can lead to developing suitable and feasible solutions that promote a more effective harmonious coexistence between humans and elephants.

Nguyen Quoc Tri, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that unlike other interventions, HSI's project offers solutions based on both scientific and practical foundations. From a state management perspective, the ministry values the engagement of various stakeholders that it has attracted, including local communities, researchers, and animal protection experts. Therefore, both human and wild animal voices are carefully considered in recommendations that impact elephants.

Trà Vinh Province expands forest cover

Trà Vinh Province has earmarked VNĐ39.6 billion (US$1.6 million) for sustainably developing the forestry sector in 2023-25.

Under a programme approved by its People’s Committee, the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province will increase the value of forestry produce, create jobs in rural areas, protect the environment, and ensure maritime security.

It will grow 656ha of new forests between now and 2025, according to Vice Chairman of Trà Vinh People's Committee Nguyễn Trung Hoàng.

It is expected to allocate the new forests to households, creating 250 jobs.

It aims to increase the total forest area to more than 10,000ha and increase the value of forest produce by 2.5 per cent a year from now to 2025.

It now has 9,600ha for a forest cover rate of 4.1 per cent.

Much of its forests has been allocated to households and organisations to protect and exploit.

The province aims to have 80 per cent tended in this manner by 2025.

It is encouraging farmers in coastal areas to grow mangrove forests and breed aquatic species in them since the model has helped develop forests sustainably, improve farmers’ incomes, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and is environment friendly.

Trần Trường Giang, director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said more than 23,980ha have been zoned in coastal areas for forests and aquaculture.

Tuyền to fight at Paris Grand Prix taekwondo tournament

Trương Thị Kim Tuyền is the only Vietnamese athlete at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix which will be held in France from September 1-3.

It is the second event of the Grand Prix Series following the first one in Rome in May.

The Paris event promises to be one of the most exciting stops in this season’s Grand Prix Series, with ranking points for qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic up for grabs.

The national No 1 and former Asian champion arrived in the venue of Marcel Cerdan Sports Palace on August 30 and will have two days practising ahead of the women's 49kg battles.

Tuyền will be against 31 strong rivals including world top 10 such as No 2 Adriana Cerezo Iglesias of Spain; No 3 Merve Dinceltur of Turkey; Lena Stojkoviccro of Croatia and No 5 Daniela Paola Souzamex of Mexico.

Her arch-rival, world No 1 and Olympic champion Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand does not take part in.

The winner of each category will pocket US$5,000. Her/his runners-up will earn $3,000 and $1,000, respectively.

Athletes in the top 17 will receive from 6.35 to 60 points for their world ranking.

Tuyền currently has 125.65 points and ranks 26. She has just completed a training course in South Korea in preparation for the Paris event.

Last year, she was unfortunately eliminated from the first round.

The Grand Prix is also considered Tuyền's test ahead of the Asian Games in China next month. 

Viet Nam to send 12-strong athletes to Asian Games

he national athletics team will compete in the 19th Asian Games with 12 of its strongest members, according to the Việt Nam Athletics Federation.

To boost Việt Nam's medal hopes at the continental quadrennial event, the team has been in intensive training since early August in China.

The federation has made a final list which include medal favourites such as Nguyễn Thị Oanh, Nguyễn Thị Huyền, Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, Nguyễn Thị Hường, Bùi Thị Thu Thảo, Trần Thị Nhi Yến, Nguyễn Trung Cường and Lương Đức Phước.

These athletes are selected based on their latest results and improvements in training. According to Đặng Việt Hà, director of the Sports Authority of Việt Nam, their peaks have been calculated to drop on the multi-sport event from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou Province.

Among athletes, long jumper Thảo is the defending champion after she won the gold medal in the 2018 Games in Indonesia.

Her junior jumper Hường just secured a bronze from the Asian championship last month. The women's 4x400m team, which bagged a bronze at the previous Games, triumphed at the same event.

Runner Oanh earned a bronze medal in the women's 3,000m steeplechase. She is also a favourite in the 1,500m event after championing at the Asian Indoor Championship in February.

Việt Nam set a humble target of a bronze medal with the 4x400m team expected to complete the task.

Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, the federation's general secretary, said the Asian Games is a tough competition where all team would bring their best athletes.

"Vietnamese athletes are asked to totally focus on their profession and do their best at the Games. It is a stage of elite athletes so we could not predict final results," said Hùng.

Meanwhile, runner Nguyễn Thị Huyền who will compete in the individual and relay 400m events said: "Currently, we are in the final preparation. All teams train with high intensity. My teammates and I will try our best to get the best results."

Athletics will be held in Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium from September 29 to October 5, where the athletes will compete for 48 gold medals.

Nguyen Hai Dang advances four places on BWF rankings

Badminton player Nguyen Hai Dang has recently ascended by four ranks in the global standings of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Conversely, female badminton player Nguyen Thuy Linh has experienced a decline of two positions.

The most recent BWF rankings were made public on August 29. Accordingly, badminton player Nguyen Hai Dang has risen to the 83rd position in the global rankings, marking a continuous ascent of four places. Meanwhile, Le Duc Phat has seen a decline of one rank, positioning him at 86th place.

In the women's category, Nguyen Thuy Linh dropped two ranks to occupy the 27th position in the current world women's singles rankings. As of now, the top-ranked women's singles player in the world remains An Se Young from South Korea.

One contributing factor to Thuy Linh's drop in ranking is her unsuccessful performance at the 2023 BWF World Championship held in Denmark, where she was knocked out in the opening round of the women's singles event. Badminton player Vu Thi Anh Thu slipped by four spots to secure the 112th position. Meanwhile, the seasoned player Vu Thi Trang, who has been less involved in recent international tournaments, experienced a significant fall of 65 places, positioning her at the 186th spot in the current world rankings.

At present, local athletes are in Bac Giang Province, taking part in the 2023 National Individual Badminton Championship, scheduled from August 29 to September 2. Following this event, they will proceed to compete in the 2023 National Mixed Team Badminton Championship, set to occur in Bac Giang as well from August 4 to 9. Nguyen Thuy Linh, Vu Thi Anh Thu, Nguyen Hai Dang, and Le Duc Phat are all taking part in these tournaments to vie for the national championship titles for their respective teams.

HCMC honors outstanding young artists, athletes, coaches

45 individuals were honored at the HCMC Outstanding Young Artists, Athletes and Coaches Awards 2023 at the HCMC Museum in the city on August 29.

The event aims to mark the 78th anniversary of the Traditional Day of Culture Sector (August 28, 1945 – 2023).

Among awardees are flutist Dinh Nhat Minh, a musician of the Bong Sen Theater of Traditional Music and Dance who was honored at the HCMC’s Outstanding Young Citizen 2022; circus artist Nguyen Thi Hoa who won a gold medal at International Circus Festival 2023 in Kazakhstan; circus artist T’Chiu Hien Phuoc who was honored at the HCMC’s Outstanding Young Citizen 2019; zither player Cao Nguyen Thuy My Duyen who won the first prize at the 2023 National Traditional Musical Instrument Solo and Orchestra Competition; and actor Ho Tri Nhon, a member of a project to preserve and promote the value of traditional Hat Boi (Vietnamese classic opera).

Participants had a chance to attend an exchange with four typical Youth Union members, including circus artists Hien Phuoc and Thanh Hoa who were winners of the HCMC Outstanding Young Artists, Athletes and Coaches Awards 2022, Taekwondo coach Le Huynh Chau and Sword-wielding athlete Truong Tran Nhat Minh.

On this occasion, the HCMC Youth Union provided sponsorship to young talents in the sectors of sports, including Tran Ngoc Thuy Vy of the Hoa Lu Sports Center, Vu Thi Anh Thu and Le Anh Tai of Phu Tho Indoor Sports Stadium, Le Thi Hien of the Thanh Da Sports Club, Nguyen Thanh Loc of Phu Tho Swimming and Diving Club.

The assistance aims to promote the city youth movement in learning and scientific research; and honor young talents in the fields of learning, scientific research, sports, culture and arts.

Landslide occurs at Mimosa Pass in Lam Dong Province

As recorded, at the foot of the guardrail of the negative slope at the Km232+100 of Mimosa Pass (part of National Highway 20), there has been a landslide with a width of approximately 2.5 meters.

The People's Committee of Da Lat City in Lam Dong Province has provided a report to the Department for Roads of Vietnam 4 under the Ministry of Transport, outlining the steps taken to address the landslide issue at Mimosa Pass to ensure the safety and orderly flow of traffic for local residents and tourists.

Mimosa Pass is a crucial route serving as the Southern gateway to Da Lat City, with a dense traffic flow caused by the closure of Prenn Pass for upgrading and expansion.

As recorded, at the foot of the guardrail of the negative slope at the Km232+100 of Mimosa Pass (part of National Highway 20), there has been a landslide with a width of approximately 2.5 meters and a slope height of over 3 meters. At the base of the slope, there is a wooden shelter and a concrete shelter, both presently employed for agricultural purposes.

The area of the landslide has reached the surface of the asphalt road.

While awaiting a resolution, the local authorities have set up warning tapes, temporarily filled the area with soil, and used sandbags to prevent water from entering the landslide site.

Previously, the People's Committee of Lam Dong Province also proposed the Ministry of Transport to urge the project's investors to accelerate the construction progress of the Project for Renovation and Upgrading of the segment passing through Mimosa Pass and several structures along National Highway 20 within the territory of Lam Dong Province. This project is invested by Project Management Unit 85 under the Ministry of Transport. This recommendation was made after recognizing the sluggish construction implementation, particularly the section through Mimosa Pass where traffic density is high, especially on weekends and holidays. Numerous sections have deteriorated significantly, posing potential risks to traffic safety for individuals and vehicles.

The Project for Renovation and Upgrading of the segment passing through Mimosa Pass and several structures along National Highway 20 within the territory of Lam Dong Province has a total investment of over VND440 billion from the State budget under the mid-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period. According to the plan, the project is set to be completed and operational by the year 2024.

HCMC Police seize nearly 70 kilograms of drugs, two guns

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security razed 209 violations with 514 drug-related offenders and seized nearly 70 kilograms of drugs of all kinds, two guns together with relevant tools and vehicles during the passing month.

During the passing month, the police forces investigated and detected 329 out of 616 violations of social order and arrested 551 offenders; detected 134 cases with 122 individuals and 16 organizations showing signs of corruption on economy and trafficking; prosecuted 118 new cases along with 44 accused; mobilized residents to hand over and revoke four guns and 12 bullets of all kinds; seized two tools and 341 rudimentary weapons of all kinds.

During the last 30 days, the municipal Department of Public Security maintained and effectively promoted the models and activities of the “All People Protecting National Security” movement, focused on diversifying forms of legal propaganda and dissemination against new conspiracies, tricks and new plots of hostile forces and criminals, thereby, receiving and collecting 840 relevant valuable information from residents to coordinate with the police forces to arrest 168 cases with 189 offenders.

In the upcoming time, the HCMC Department of Public Security will continue to direct the police units in localities to concentrate on catching up on the situation, promptly consult the policies to ensure social security and order; absolutely ensure the security for the key targets, projects, events, festivals, delegations of State leaders and international tourists to the city, especially on the occasion of National Day holiday (September 2).

All Hanoi contestants win prizes at IOAA 2023

All Hanoi students won high prizes at the 16th International Olympiad in Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA 2023), according to the city's Department of Education and Training.

The Hanoi delegation won two silver and two bronze medals at the competition, which was held in Poland from August 10 to 20, 2023, with the participation of 261 candidates from 53 countries and territories.

They are all from physics classes at the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. The silver medal went to Pham The Minh and Tran Thai Vu (12th grade). Two bronze medals went to Nguyen Ba Linh and Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Anh (11th grade).

Speaking at the ceremony to welcome back and honor the winners of the IOAA 2023, Director of Hanoi's Department of Education and Training Tran The Cuong said that the students' achievements have reaffirmed the strength of the city’s education sector.

"I expect schools in the capital will focus on spearheading educational activities and win international awards that will make both Hanoi and Vietnam proud," the director stressed.

The IOAA is an annual international science competition for high school students to honor astronomy and astrophysics.

It is a joint initiative of five countries - Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, China, and Poland - to popularize astronomy among high school students and promote international friendship and cooperation among young astronomers, giving opportunities for students from different countries and regions to enhance exchanges.

The competition was first held in Thailand in November 2007. In last year's edition, the Hanoi delegation competed for students nationwide and won one silver medal, five bronze medals, and one consolation prize. The next edition will be held in Brazil in 2024.

Da Nang among Top 10 most-searched destinations on National Day

Booking.com has released a list of the top 10 most sought-after destinations by Vietnamese tourists during the upcoming National Day (September 2) holiday with a check-in date from September 2-4.

The world’s leading online travel platform reported that Da Nang topped the list, followed by Ba Ria - Vung Tau, and Nha Trang.

The next destinations include the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, the capital city of Ha Noi, Ha Long, Mui Ne, Da Lat, Phu Quoc, and Hoi An.

Beach is always the first choice of Vietnamese tourists when making travelling decisions, followed by big cities. This is also evident in the top 10 list with six out of the 10 names being the top coastal cities in the country.

This upcoming holiday lasts 4 days, from September 1 to 4, is the last of its kind of this year.

For outbound tours, Vietnamese travelers tend to choose destinations in Asia, with Thailand and Singapore remaining the most popular and top the list.

Meanwhile, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur are also ideal destinations for Vietnamese to enjoy the four-day holiday./.

Cultural exchange helps promote Vietnam-Thailand friendship

A Vietnam-Thailand cultural exchange programme took place in Ho Chi Minh City on August 30 with the aim of enhancing understanding and connectivity between people of the two countries.

It was co-organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO)'s representative office in the southern region, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union's chapter in HCM City, the Vietnam-ASEAN Friendship Association in HCM City and Thailand’s Consulate General in the city.

The programme marked the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership (2003-2023), said Tran Hoang Khanh Van, deputy head of the VUFO’s southern region office.

Van highlighted the good relations between the two countries across fields, from politics to defence-security, economy, trade, culture and education, calling people-to-people exchange a basic foundation for them to build up their friendship.  

The programme featured traditional art performances of both Thailand and Vietnam.

Photo exhibition features Da Nang’s development

A photo exhibition is underway in the central city of Da Nang to celebrate the 78th anniversary of National Day (September 2).

The 80 photos on display were selected from 419 works by 48 amateur and professional photographers nationwide within nearly two months, said Ngo Van Bay, Director of the Da Nang Cinema and Cultural Centre – the event’s co-organiser.

The exhibits capture the city’s construction and development, including its outstanding reform achievements in economy, culture-social affairs, national defence-security, urban development, and new-style rural area building.

The exhibition lasts from August 30 to September 5.

Da Nang received more than 3.8 million visitors in the first six months of this year, tripling the figure recorded in the same period of 2022. This includes 960,000 foreigners, 16.6 times higher higher the same period last year.

Revenue from tourism activities reached 7.43 trillion VND (313.76 million USD), doubling the first half of 2022’s number.

Art exchange brings ASEAN countries closer

The Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations (HAUFO) in coordination with embassies of ASEAN countries in the capital city organised an international art exchange programme to celebrate the 56th founding anniversary of the bloc (August 8) and the 78th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day (September 2).

In his remarks, HAUFO President Nguyen Ngoc Ky stressed that regional cooperation, friendship and connectivity within the ASEAN framework remains a priority in Vietnam’s foreign policy of diversification and multilateralisation of relations.  

The Vietnamese Government and people will make all-out efforts to contribute to building a more cohesive and stronger ASEAN, and promoting cooperation and friendship between its member countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, he affirmed.

Present at the event, Denny Abdi, Ambassador of Indonesia – ASEAN Chair 2023, noted that ASEAN citizens are living in a harmonious environment, adding within a decade, foreign investment in the grouping increased by 50%, reflecting the stable political environment in the member countries.

He described raising public awareness of ASEAN cultural identities and promoting the intra-bloc solidarity in the context of cultural diversity as the key to building the ASEAN Community.

Songs and dances at the programme feature the beauty of land, people and culture of the ASEAN countries, contributing to strengthening the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and other members, as well as between Hanoi and foreign cities.

Passengers through Noi Bai int’l airport up slightly before holiday

The number of passengers passing through Hanoi-based Noi Bai International Airport on August 31 increased by 15% from a day earlier, ahead of the four-day National Day holiday from September 1-4, the airport's leader has said.

According to the flight schedule on August 31, there were about 566 flights, including 234 international and 332 domestic ones.

The number of passengers was estimated at nearly 85,000, including roughly 57,000 domestic and 28,000 foreign ones.

The airport has also rolled out aviation security measures for the important holiday.

When in need of assistance, passengers could reach the airport hotline at the toll-free number 1900636535, or a hotline to provide feedback on service quality at 0389166566 and the website http://noibaiairport.vn.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes